Come What May
by morph
Summary: The TARDIS lands on a ship containing a refugee alien named Rehprom. The Doctor, Jack, and Rose agree to help her, and get caught in the results of an alien war. Set between 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town.'
1. Fight or Flight

AN/ This is my first multi-chapter Doctor Who fic. The Doctor, TARDIS, Rose, Captain Jack and anything and everything related to them belong to the BBC. All of the Canads and Ricans belong to me. This fic takes place between 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town.' There's not a whole lot of Rose/Doctor in it, sorry to disappoint. It's mainly focused on my character Rehprom.

Just briefly, here's a guide to pronouncing my alien names in this chapter:

Rehprom: Ree-prom  
Fejellilineiclea: Fee-gel-eh-line-ick-el-ah  
Rican: Rye-can  
Canadmanipegwinntoba: Can-add-man-eh-peg-win-toe-baa  
Acro: Ack-row  
Xaler: Zah-ler

Extra special thanks to LilCosette for being my beta on this fic. This story is also dedicated to her. Merci Bindi!

* * *

Rehprom Fejellilineiclea was desperate not to cry. Two years of being a Rican slave had taught her to be tough. She could still remember the day the Ricans invaded her planet, her beloved Canadmanipegwinntoba, and took her people as slaves. She had seen her parents die. The only family she had left was her brother, Acro. And then Xaler came into their lives. 

A rogue tear slipped down her cheek as she lost the battle to keep her tears at bay. _Xaler._ Rehprom placed a hand on her slightly swollen stomach. "_Will we ever see each other again_," she wondered. "_Will we live to see our children grow up?"_

Rehprom's hand moved down and began to wrestle with the wide, thick belt around her waist. More thoughts raced through her head. "_I should have gone back for them."_ Another tear fell.

She, Acro and Xaler had planned an escape. Xaler had somehow organised for a small Rican ship, characterised by its red and blue paint and star-like shape, to be in for repairs. Really there was nothing wrong with it. Rehprom and Acro were pretending to fix it with Xaler guarding them. In fact they were preparing it for take off. It was a daring plan. If they were caught, they would have been made examples of in a most painful way. Despite the risk, they almost succeeded. But then something went horribly wrong. They were caught, just as the ship was ready to go. Rehprom had scampered inside while Acro and Xaler fought the Ricans, but they were overwhelmed. They shouted for her to go, before it was too late. And she did.

Now she was alone, drifting through space. On top of all that, she was pregnant, and she was sure she was the only one who knew. She knew she was much further along then she looked. This was due to her body reacting to stress and hiding the pregnancy as a way of protecting the babies growing inside. If she could relax for long enough, her stomach would fill out more. In a way, it was good that her body was instinctively hiding her condition. Rehprom shuddered to think what the Ricans would do to her and her babies if they ever found out.

Rehprom cried out in frustration, more tears spilling against her will down her face. The damn belt was _not coming off!_ She tore at it with her nails, and then in desperation she grabbed a small knife off the console of the ship. This action flipped a small switch, and unbeknownst to her teary eyes, sent a signal out into space. Rehprom steadied her hand enough to carefully cut through the belt. It took longer then she thought it would and she had to force herself to be patient. When it was done the belt and the knife clattered to the floor, forgotten.

Rehprom sighed and unwrapped her long tail from around her waist. It was a Canad's most powerful weapon. Two meters long, flexible, prehensile, and able to hold two times her body weight. The Ricans forcibly restrained all Canads' tails around their waists. Rehprom closed her eyes and slowly stretched and flexed her tail, working out the stiffness and kinks. It felt good.

The Canad sighed again as another wave of tears threatened to become free, despite her best efforts to keep them back. She felt utterly hopeless. She had no idea how to drive a ship. All of the plans she had included Acro and Xaler being there to help her. Now what was she going to do?

A tone beeped on the console. Rehprom looked at it and swore. She didn't know how to fly a ship, but she knew enough to tell that another Rican ship was closing in on her. In a matter of minutes, they would catch up with the pirated ship. Rehprom swallowed. "_Well, we tried our best,"_ she thought, momentarily considering giving up.

Those thoughts were dashed in a second as a sudden a new sound filled the ship. It wasn't coming from her console. It was a whirring, rhythmic, mechanical pulse that was repeated over and over, getting louder and louder.

Rehprom panicked, her body filling with adrenaline. The sound was at its loudest just outside the control room. Rehprom pressed her body against the wall beside the door. If anyone was somehow coming onto the ship, this was the best place she could hide and stage an ambush should they walk into the control room. Rehprom wiped the moisture from her cheeks and said a prayer to whatever deity was listening for strength as the mechanical noise reached a crescendo and stopped. Flight was now longer an option, and she decided that she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

* * *

AN/ I'm going to do a reference guide throughout this fic after each chapter. Here are the references for this chapter: 

Acro and Rehprom refer to my e-mail address, orca morpher. (Acro is orca spelled backwards and Rehprom is morpher spelled backwards.)

Xaler is relax spelled backwards.

Canadmanipegwinntoba is a mix of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which is my home town.

Fejellilineiclea is a mix of the words feline and jellicle. (With an 'a' added on the end.) Not surprisingly, _Cats _is my favourite musical.


	2. Relief

Rose Tyler sighed in frustration. She was playing solitaire on a TARDIS computer screen. She had been at it for over an hour, determined to win at least once before she quit, but the TARDIS wasn't making it easy for her. Just when Rose thought she was going to win, the cards would suddenly be in an order that made it impossible for her to get them out. Rose began to think the ship was doing this on purpose.

The Doctor wore an amused smirk as he watched Rose out of the corner of his eye. He was reading _The Lord of the Rings _but not really putting much effort into it. He bit his tongue to suppress a laugh as Rose growled at the screen and hit the 'deal' button for the fiftieth time and counting.

Jack strolled into the console room, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck having just woken up from a nap. "Well, gang," he said. "What do you say we go somewhere?"

"Good idea," Rose said. "This bloody game is impossible. It must be sat at 'Time Lord' difficulty level or something." The men smiled.

"Where were you thinking of going?" the Doctor asked, setting down his book and standing up.

Before Jack could respond, the central collum of the TARDIS began to pulse up and down, bathing the room in blue-green light. It was as if the ship had suddenly chosen a destination for them. It wasn't the first time this has happened.

"I didn't touch anything," Jack said, protecting what innocence he had.

"I know." The Doctor's eyes flickered over the console, reading the information the ship was giving him. "The TARDIS has picked up a signal and is moving towards it."

Rose knitted her brows. "The last time that happened we ended up in Van Statten's base."

"Who's Van Statten?" Jack asked over the din of the TARDIS' engine.

"An alien collector from the year 2012," the Doctor said. His eyes momentarily darkened at the memory. "He had a live Dalek."

Jack's eyes widened. "But you killed it, right?"

"More or less," the Doctor replied.

Suddenly the engines stopped with a shuddering thud. The TARDIS had landed.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"In the Andromeda Galaxy, not too far away from Canadmanipegwinntoba," The Doctor said. His eyes met Rose's. "Or Canad for short. The year is 2005." Rose took a moment to marvel how much was happening all across the universe at any given moment, but it soon became too much for her to think about. For once she was also glad of a planet that didn't seem too hard to pronounce the name of.

"What do you mean 'not too far away?'" Jack asked, trying to decipher the TARDIS' information. At last he got it. "We've landed on a ship. Says here there's only one life on bord."

"They must have sent out a distress signal and the TARDIS decided to reply to it and send us to the rescue," the Doctor said, his eyes drifting up the central collum thoughtfully.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go and see who needs our help." Rose started towards the door. Jack beat her to the ramp, as he was closest to it. The Doctor came up behind Rose, almost too close. Sensing that he was suddenly in her personal space, he hesitated a second before following her down the ramp. Rose glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. He smiled in return.

Jack opened the doors and stepped out with minimal caution and typical American bravado. "I don't see anyone," he told the others as they exited the TARDIS. He raised his voice to address the whole ship and began to move into what looked like the control room. "Hello?"

Out of nowhere, something long and almost snake-like whipped out from behind the doorframe that led into the control room. It was lightening fast, and before anyone could react it was around Jack's throat. Jack, Rose and the Doctor froze in place. The female being attached to the cord around Jack's neck stepped into view from her hiding place just inside the room. Now it could be seen that Jack had been caught by her tail.

She was humanoid-looking and young by human standards, placing her age maybe at seventeen or eighteen Earth-years. Her hair was long and was done up in a loose braid that was reddish-brown and streaked with blonde highlights. Her eyes were hard, dark, and a bit red as if she had been crying. Those eyes exposed a pain and age that didn't quite match the rest of her body; very much, Rose realised, like the Doctor's. The girl's face was set in fear, determination and a hint of desperation.

"Whoa," Jack gasped, raising his hands to grasp the tail around this throat. "I'm into some kinky stuff, but this is a bit _much!_" He chocked the last word out as the humanoid alien's tail tightened, as a python kills its prey. Jack's hands pulled on the coils but they wouldn't budge.

The girl eyed all of them, her eyes resting on the Doctor the longest. "Please stay calm," he said in an attempt to diffuse this situation. Rose wasn't sure if he was telling Jack, the alien, or herself to stay calm. All of them, most likely. "We're not here to hurt you. We want to help."

"Who are you?" the girl demanded. "You have no wings…you're not Ricans. And no tails!"

"No," the Doctor said. "I'm the Doctor. This," he indicated the woman beside him, "is Rose Tyler, and the man in your, uh, grip is Captain Jack Harkness."

"Pleased to meet you," Jack said in a horse, choked voice to his captor. She shot him a warning look.

"What's your name?" Rose asked, trying her hand at negotiation.

The alien hesitated, but then decided she had nothing to lose. "Rehprom," she said.

The Doctor smiled. This was good progress. "Rehprom, would you mind letting go of my friend? He kind of needs to breathe."

Rehprom studied the Doctor for what seemed like a long time, giving the feeling of being x-rayed. Then, without a word, Rehprom uncoiled her tail, releasing a grateful Captain Jack. He stepped away from her, messaging his sore windpipe. "Thanks."

Rehprom arched her tail over her shoulder like a scorpion, ready to strike again if need be. "You said you were here to help me?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied. He nodded towards the ship's console. "If I may…?"

"Go ahead," Rehprom said, stepping aside and allowing the Doctor to pass.

"Cheers." Long strides took him over to the console where he examined the screen alerting them to the oncoming Rican ship. "Why are these people after you?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Because I escaped," Rehprom said. Her tone was strong, proud and sad. "The Ricans took over my planet and my people were made into slaves." Her left hand clutched her right bicep. "My brother and my…mate were going to escape with me but they got caught and now they're going to get me too." Her voice cracked.

"Not if we can help it," the Doctor said. He looked at her. "You're coming with us."

"Excuse me," Jack said. "But she tried to kill me!" He jabbed a finger in Rehprom's direction.

"I think if she really wanted to, she would've," Rose said, eyeing Rehprom's tail. The alien just stared at the ground, silent.

"Right, well, come on, then," the Doctor said with a grin. He bounded back to the TARDIS. "No use sticking around here waiting for them to come and get us."

The Time Lord's companions retreated with him back into the ship, but Rehprom was reluctant to follow them into the strange blue box. The Doctor leaned out the TARDIS door. "Look, I'll make a deal with you, okay? Promise not to strangle my friends any more and we'll see if we can't get you reunited with your brother and your…mate." His glance drifted down to her abdomen and Rehprom wondered if he somehow knew about her condition. She subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach and felt a kick. The Doctor smiled warmly at her and held out a hand in invitation.

At last Rehprom sighed quietly, smiled bravely, and stepped forward, reaching out her own hand. The Doctor took her fingers, guiding her into the TARDIS. Rehprom noticed that his hand felt cold even in contrast to her own usually chilly hands, but not unpleasantly so. Rehprom stepped into the ship, the Doctor closing the doors behind her.

* * *

AN/ Reference guide for this chapter:

I know I'm not alone in this situation: You're playing solitaire on the computer, but no matter how hard you try, you just can't win! It's almost like the computer is trying to make you lose. This happened to me while I was writing this fic. I'm glad to see that so many of you could relate to it.

What book would the Doctor be reading? _Lord of the Rings_ was the first one I saw on my shelf and I thought, "Why not?"

"Dalek." Yeah, we've all seen that episode.

The Andromeda Galaxy actually exists. It's the closest one to the Milky Way.


	3. Shifting Gears

Rehprom gasped at the wonder of the TARDIS' interior. Her eyes couldn't go wide enough to take it all in.

She heard that rhythmic, whirring, mechanical noise again. There was a collum in the middle of the room attached to a round console at the base. The console was littered with switches and other odd devices. Rehprom noticed that each time the sound was heard, some_thing_ inside the central collum was forced upwards. Rehprom automatically concluded that this was the power source for the ship.

The Doctor beamed. "Welcome to the TARDIS," he said to Rehprom. "In this fantastic machine you are able to travel any place, any time."

Rehprom frowned. "Any time?"

"Yeah, it's a time machine," Rose said proudly.

Rehprom looked around the room once more, nodding her approval. She grabbed her right bicep again. It seemed to be a habit.

After a moment, the TARDIS' engine slowed and stopped, but Rehprom could still hear the machine faintly in the background, almost as if the ship was breathing.

"So, tell us a bit more about yourself," Rose said. "I think you said your name was Rehprom?"

"Yes," the alien said. She flicked her tail. "Rehprom Fejellilineiclea. I was born on Canadmanipegwinntoba in the north."

Rose and the Doctor smiled at each other, sharing their in-joke about planets having a north.

"Is that why you sound like you're from Canada?" Jack asked.

Rehprom's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Where?"

"Never mind. It's on Earth," Jack said, shaking his head. " We just came from there. From Earth, I mean."

"Really?" Rehprom looked at the Doctor. She had long ago concluded that he was the leader of this little group. There was something else that was different about him too, but Rehprom couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Yes, but that's not important right now," the Doctor said. "You said something before about Canads being slaves?'

"Yes." Rehprom took a deep breath. Inhaling that particular time seemed to take a lot longer then normal. "About two years ago, my planet was taken over by the Ricans and we were made slaves. Some, like my parents, died in the war when they took over. No one quite knows why they did it, but some think it was because they wanted our water. Canad had two large oceans and Rica only has two small ones." Rehprom shrugged and flexed her tail. "They restrain our tails around our waists so we can't use them."

"I can see why," Jack muttered.

Rehprom blinked at him. "I'm sorry if I hurt you. I thought you were Rican at first."

"It's okay," Jack said.

"Do Ricans have wings by any chance?" the Doctor asked suddenly. Rose and Rehprom looked at him.

"Yes, they do," Rehprom said, sounding mildly surprised. "Two huge wings coming out of their backs. They look…" She cocked her head, frowning thoughtfully. "They look like the material your jacket is made out of."

They all looked at the Doctor, more specifically at his trademark battered black leather coat. "Leather? They have leather wings like a bat?" Rose wondered.

"No, not like a bat," the Doctor corrected her, an old memory coming to the surface. "More like an eagle or hawk. Feathers made out of leather." His companions gave him a look.

"How do you know?" Jack asked.

"I remember visiting Canad and Rica once a long time ago," the Doctor said. "They were at peace then." His ocean-deep blue eyes met Rehprom's. "This shouldn't have happened. The Ricans shouldn't have invaded your planet. My people would have stopped this from happening." He sighed. Rose bit her lower lip.

Rehprom blew out a long breath. She stepped up to the Doctor and inhaled deeply again, taking in his scent. "I knew it," she said. "I knew you were different. I could sense it before, but now I know for sure. You're alien, and not just to me. You're as alien to Rose and Captain Jack as I am."

The Doctor smiled. All the darkness that was there before pushed back deep down inside him. "Yep. I'm one of a kind. Now, then…your brother, what's his name?"

"Acro," Rehprom said.

"He's your twin, right?" the Time Lord asked, more memories of Rehprom's people coming to light.

"Yes. All Canad births are twins," Rehprom confirmed.

"So that means you're gonna have twins too, right?"

Rehprom looked away. _Damn. He _did_ know._ "Yes," she admitted, her hand drifting to her stomach. Rose and Jack both raised their eyebrows and started to smile.

"And the father's name…your mate?" the Doctor prompted.

"Xaler," Rehprom responded, her voice filled with love.

The Doctor grinned. "Right. Now, how about you go and rest up and then we'll go look for them, okay?"

Rehprom could feel a smile forming on her face as a feeling of hope crept into her chest. It was not a feeling she had allowed herself in a long time. For some reason, she felt safe with this strange group of time/space travellers. She had faith in them. It was something she could sense, like how her keen nose had signalled the Doctor as being very different from the others.

"Okay," she said.

"Rose, would you help her find a room?" the Doctor asked his female companion.

"Sure," she said, smiling at Rehprom. "Come with me, and be careful. The TARDIS sometimes likes to shift the corridors around."

Rehprom started to follow Rose, but then stopped. "Oh, one more thing you should probably know." She looked at the Doctor. "Or remember…Rican blood is extremely acidic. It can burn through anything organic. They dilute it to give us these as identification." She lifted up the sleeve of the t-shirt she was wearing, exposing the skin on her right bicep. There was a pattern there, like a tattoo or a brand. It looked like two X's with a horizontal bar running through and connecting them. The ends of the bar slanted upwards and diagonally away opposite each other. "My skin had a reaction to it and sometimes it makes my muscles twitch, like now." Indeed, her muscles could be seen twitching faintly under the skin around the mark, like when someone develops a twitchy eye. Rehprom placed her left hand over the mark in an effort to ease it and halt the twitching.

"We'll keep that in mind. Thanks," The Doctor said.

Rehprom gave him the faintest of smiles and followed Rose into the rest of the TARDIS.

* * *

AN/ Reference guide for this chapter: 

I _had_ to put the "most planets have a North" gag in here. Canad's, (or Canada's) north is very different to England's north though.

Yes, Rehprom has a Canadian accent. So do I. Go figure.

Originally, Rehprom was going to be raped by a Rican and would therefore have to bare his children. I thought this wouldn't quite work though because I loved the idea of Ricans having leather feathers, but then that would mean that Rehprom would probably associate anything black leather with that horrible event, thus developing a phobia of black leather. That would mean she would be afraid of the Doctor's jacket, and I wanted Rehprom to like him. Therefore, I changed the story so that Rehprom _wasn't_ raped after all. She doesn't think black leather is so bad now. (Neither do I. In fact, I've discovered I have a thing for black leather jackets.)

Rehprom's reaction to the Doctor is the same as mine. I didn't even know who he was at first, but I still felt drawn to him. Even before I knew anything about Doctor Who, I could tell that there was something pleasingly different about him and that he was a natural leader.

During the time I was coming up with Rehprom's character, I developed a twitchy muscle in my right bicep. I lasted for about a week and then went away. I have no clue why or how it came and went, but it intrigued me enough to include in this story.

Rican blood being acidic. Well, this is just me trying to come up with ways to make Ricans dangerous. Besides, snake venom is just evolved spit. Why can't blood be the same? Of course, it would have to be diluted if you wanted to use it to say, brand someone.


	4. A Telling Dream

Rose led Rehprom down a hallway to find the Canad a room. Rose wasn't quite sure what to say to her. Rehprom had been through so much anguish in her life. Even though Rose had also been through many traumatic events since she first met the Doctor, at least she always had the choice to stop. Rose knew she had a refuge in the TARDIS, and that if she wanted to, _really_ wanted to, she could go back to Earth, to her old home. She could stay there and be safe.

Rose thought back to the day she asked the Doctor if she could see her dad on the day that he died. She didn't _have_ to go back and watch her father die. She chose to.

Rehprom didn't have that option. She had seen both her parents die, her home altered forever. She could never go back to her home planet and live a happy life. Rose also realised that although they could take her back in time and place her on Canad years before the Rican invasion, years before she was even born, it would still plague her to know what was going to happen to her home. Plus there was her brother and mate to think about. Rose knew that she could never leave Jack and the Doctor behind if they were ever in the same situation.

Rose decided to talk about a nice, neutral topic; the TARDIS.

"I bet you've never been on a ship like this before," Rose said with some confidence.

Rehprom shook her head. "No. This ship is amazing. It's almost like it's alive."

Rose smiled. "In a way, she is. She's telepathic. Can enter your mind and read your thoughts and stuff. Also likes to rearrange the corridors, as I've already said, and she doesn't always like to land in the right places. Like this one time, me and the Doctor arrived back on Earth and we thought we'd only been gone for twelve hours but in fact we were gone for twelve months."

Rose looked to see Rehprom's reaction to her story and instead saw the alien had stopped a short distance behind her, and was now gazing at a door like it was a painting in a museum. Rose backtracked, slightly embarrassed. She too looked at the door. There was writing on it that Rose didn't recognise. It was obviously in an alien language. Not Gallifreyan - there were post-it notes with the Time Lord's native language all over the TARDIS console room, and so Rose was able to recognise that easily enough. The writing on the door was in a different alphabet altogether. Rehprom was smiling.

"Can you read that?" Rose asked.

"Yes," Rehprom said. "It's old Canad writing, I'm one of the few left who can still communicate with it. Well…me and my brother, that is."

"What does it say?"

"It says 'Rehprom'."

Rose smiled.

"I guess this is my room then," the Canad said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rose agreed.

Rehprom opened the door and beheld a medium sized room. There was a bookshelf filled with literature, a desk and chair, a wardrobe, and what looked like a round bed with no sheets or pillows. The walls were a pale blue with white trim. Rehprom nodded and smiled in satisfaction. "This is good."

"But there's no sheets or pillows though," Rose commented.

Rehprom crossed to the wardrobe and opened it. There were some traditional Canad garments inside, as well as stacks of pillows and blankets. "No, it's okay," she said. "I'll make a nest using these."

"Okay," Rose said. She watched as Rehprom tried and failed to stifle a yawn. "I think I'd better leave you to it then. If you need anything, just find me or Jack or the Doctor. Hopefully, the TARDIS will help you out too."

"Okay," Rehprom said. "Thank you for everything. I'd be dead if it weren't for you and the others. Please tell the Doctor and Jack for me that I'm _extremely_ grateful."

Rose smiled. "I will. Have a good sleep." Then she left, closing the door behind her.

---

Rehprom snuggled deep into her newly made nest. It was sculpted out of the pillows and blankets she had found. For the first time in almost two years she felt comfortable. The only other good night she had had since the Ricans took over was the night she had spent with Xaler. She closed her eyes and was soon lost in a dream.

_She was in her old cell. It was cold, cramped, and outside. This was because Ricans were generally very claustrophobic. She could make out the sign labelling the block of cells that hers was a member of. It read "_Flow Dab,_" just like it always did._

_Rehprom shivered. She was wearing the belt restraining her tail again. A face leered at her from between the bars of her cage. She recognised it as belonging to the leader of the guards, a large, cold-hearted bully named Tyran. His massive leather wings were spread in a threatening pose. Rehprom was close enough to make out the individual feathers, which was about ten times too close for her. Tyran reached a hand through the bars towards her, a cut on the hand dripping acidic blood. Rehprom wanted to scream, to fight, but she was paralysed. All she could do was whimper as the hand zoomed forward._

_Then a voice from behind Tyran called out. Rehprom instantly recognised it. Acro! There was a whip crack and Tyran yelled in pain as her brother lashed him across the back with his tail. Again and again this happened, much to Rehprom's delight. Somehow, not a drop of blood landed on Acro's tail, even as the Rican's back and wings were shredded. He too, seemed paralysed, though he flapped his wings madly in an attempt to escape._

_Soon, Acro was joined by another welcome face as Xaler appeared. Together they fought Tyran until he was no longer regarded a threat. Xaler picked him up effortlessly and hurled him away. _

_Acro smiled at Rehprom and Xaler in turn, then vanished as his sister focused her attentions on her mate. Xaler approached Rehprom's cage and touched the bars. This somehow caused them to evaporate around her like water on a hot grill. Rehprom all but collapsed into his strong arms. She felt him remove her belt and she wrapped her tail around him. They kissed deeply. Xaler seemed to be all around her, filling her senses. She wished this moment could last forever and she drunk him in, as much as she could hold, and even that was not enough. At last they just stood there, holding each other._

"_I love you," Xaler whispered._

"_I know. I love you too,'" Rehprom responded. For a moment, she felt entirely at peace._

_It was short-lived, however. A sudden feeling of fear wormed its way into Rehprom's mind. It was the fear of the unknown future. Xaler sensed this and kissed her forehead gently._

"_Don't worry. It'll be all right. Just have faith and hope and we'll meet again soon. I promise."_

_A tear slid down Rehprom's cheek, soaking into Xaler's chest. He continued to hold her close and kiss her tears away._

Rehprom smiled sadly in her sleep as her stomach began to grow.

---

The Doctor needed to keep his mind busy. This was why he was once again unnecessarily tinkering around underneath the TARDIS' console, his sonic screwdriver buzzing away merrily. The TARDIS was being very patient in allowing herself to be meddled with in this way. It was almost like acupuncture for her mechanical self. She was keeping one 'eye' on Rehprom and her dreams. There was something about the Canad that wasn't quite right - some DNA that didn't match the rest of hers. It was logical to assume that the foreign DNA belonged to her babies, but it was still wrong. It didn't even match the rest of her species.

Rose also couldn't stop thinking about Rehprom. "She'll be all right, yeah?" she said, partly to reassure herself.

"She should be," the Doctor replied.

"I think she can handle herself," Jack added, fiddling with something on top of the console.

Suddenly, something groaned and banged in the background. Jack cocked his head. "Whoa, that didn't sound very happy." The ship groaned again, louder this time. It was almost a growl. Steam hissed and an alarm on the console beeped.

The Doctor bit his lip and crawled out from under the console. He stood, plopping the sonic screwdriver into his pocket. He tapped a control on the console, but with little effect.

"Come on," he muttered, tapping at another control.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"To put it simply, something is distressing the TARDIS," the Doctor explained. More steam hissed loudly. The Doctor raised his voice, addressing the ship. "Hey! Come on, now! None of that!" His voice became softer, barely a mummer. "Tell me what's wrong."

His eyes closed as the TARDIS painted a picture for him in his mind. He saw black Rican wings enclosing two people. He saw a cord wrapped around the waist of the one who was physically attached to the wings. He determined them to be a male and female in an embrace…only there was something not quite right about that cord… He realised that it was a Canad tail. The wings shifted slightly and the Doctor caught a glimpse of the female. Red-brown hair, streaks of blonde. Then the vision ended. The Doctor opened his eyes.

"Doctor?" Rose looked at him, her face a mask of concern. Jack also frowned at the Time Lord.

"I think the TARDIS is trying to tell us something," the Doctor told his companions. The noises gradually died down.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Something to do with Rehprom. We'll have to ask her more questions when she wakes up." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Maybe we should give her an exam as well, in the infirmary. I think she's hiding something the TARDIS reckons we should know about."

Rose's eyebrows arched. "Like what?"

"I don't know for sure," the Doctor said. "But we'll find out."

* * *

AN/ Reference guide for this chapter:

"Aliens of London" and "Father's Day" references. Just good examples from the series.

I have actually come up with the Canad alphabet. I can read and write it. I have no life.

I sometimes like to think of my bed as a nest. Who doesn't?

"Flow Dab." Bad Wolf. 'Nuff said.

Tyran comes from the word tyrant. This describes him nicely.


	5. Biological Alliance

AN/Here is how you pronounce the new name in this chapter:

Acinom: Ah-key-no-mmm. (Aci for short.)

* * *

Back on Canad, Acro tried once again to escape. Ignoring the pain of his bruises, he tested each of his bonds in turn, but all of them held. He was stretched out on a table in a large room, his wrists, ankles, arms, legs and chest strapped down. Two massively built Ricans stood guard by the door. A dark haired female Rican was just tightening the final strap across his forehead, securing his head in place. Natural light spilled into the dark room from a stretch of windows high up on a wall. Acro growled and glared at the Rican. She looked at him, her expression blank. 

"_It's just as well, I suppose,"_ Acro thought. "_I wouldn't be able to get past those guards anyways."_

There was a sound of a door opening. Footsteps approached. There was a rustling of leather feathers. "Aci," a hard voice said. "Is he ready?"

"Yes, Tyran," the female Rican said.

"And the water?"

"It's here." Acinom walked a few steps and dragged a tray on wheels close to the table. There was a clear container with water in it on the tray, along with a knife, a dropper, and some towels.

"Good." Acro could hear that Tyran was pleased. At last the Rican stepped into Acro's field of vision. He smiled slowly at the Canad. "So, you thought you were going to plan a little escape, huh? Thought you and your sister would just fly on out of here, along with that traitor?" He shook his head, clicking his tongue.

"Where are they?" Acro demanded.

"Your friend will get his punishment, don't worry about him. Your sister on the other hand…" He sighed and flexed his wings. "Well, the ship has been found, but she wasn't on it."

"What?"

"That's what I thought," Tyran said. "But she'll be found soon enough. It doesn't matter to you anyways. You're never going to see her again."

Acro took a deep breath. "If you're going to kill me, just do it. Don't stand there talking about it."

Tyran grinned at the Canad's bravery. "Who ever said I was going to kill you? You'll simply be made a lasting example of, to teach other would-be rebels a lesson." The Rican rolled up his sleeves and picked up the knife. He frowned at his left arm, the blade poised as if he were deciding where to cut. Acro's eyes widened in realisation.

"No," he whispered.

"Yes," Tyran said, distracted. He studied his left hand for a moment, then lowered the blade of the knife onto it. It one smooth motion, he sliced through his palm. The resulting cut wasn't too deep, but deep enough for what he wanted. Rich, dark blood, so deep a red it was nearly black, pooled in his hand. He dunked the injury in the water, which imminently darkened as blood drifted into it. Tyran left it submerged for five seconds, then pulled his hand out and wrapped it in a towel. He lifted the container and swirled it carefully to mix the blood and water together. "What do you think, Aci?" he said. "Three drops each?"

Aci nodded slowly. "That should do it." She didn't sound very enthusiastic, almost as if she was in regret.

Tyran eyed her for a moment and picked up the dropper. "Thank you, sister." Tyran filled the dropper with the diluted blood. "Hold his left eye open for me, please."

Acro's screams were heard by Xaler in his own cell awaiting his punishment. He winced and closed his eyes. He felt sick. He wondered what he was going to say to Rehprom if, and hopefully when he ever saw her again.

---

Rose found Rehprom in the kitchen spreading something brown into a large piece of toast. "Hi," she said. "What are you making?"

"This is a mix or cinnamon, brown sugar and butter," Rehprom replied. "It's an old home remedy if you're feeling low. My mother used to make it all the time when Acro and I were little."

Rose smiled. "I didn't know they had cinnamon, brown sugar and butter on Canad. I just thought they were just on Earth." Rehprom shrugged and bit into the toast. That's when Rose noticed the Canad's large, rounded stomach. "Wow! You sure grew a lot!"

Rehprom smiled, resting a hand on her belly. "This is a better indication of how far I really am along. My body was trying to hide it before because I was stressed."

"Do you mind if I…?"

Rehprom smiled proudly. It felt good to show off her pregnant belly for once instead of hiding it. "No, go ahead."

Rose stepped forward and pressed a hand on Rehprom's stomach. She felt a kick and grinned. "It kicked!" Rehprom smiled.

"That's fantastic," a new voice said. Rehprom and Rose turned and saw the Doctor in the doorway. They both smiled again. "Rehprom," the Doctor said. "I hope you won't mind if I were to give you a quick medical exam? Just to make sure everything is healthy."

Rehprom looked a bit uncertain, but she nodded, trusting him. "Okay."

"Great. Follow me." The Doctor turned and exited the kitchen. Rehprom looked to Rose and lifted her partly finished toast.

"Oh, don't worry. You can finish it after," Rose said.

"Coming?" the Doctor's voice called.

"Yes." Rehprom placed her toast on a plate and she and Rose left the kitchen.

Once in the infirmary, the Doctor told Rehprom to sit on the bed. She did so. Rose asked if it was okay if she could stay and watch.

"If it's okay with Rehprom," the Doctor said, getting out his sonic screwdriver and changing the settings on it. Rehprom nodded as Jack walked into the room carrying a cup of coffee.

"Good afternoon," he said cheerily. "Ready for your check-up?"

"Yes." Rehprom said, flexing her tail.

"Okay," the Doctor said, lifting the sonic screwdriver. "Rehprom, if you'll just slowly breathe in for me as I scan your lungs with this."

The Canad inhaled slowly. Again, it was noticed that this action seemed to take a very long time. "Why does that take so long?" Rose asked.

"Because her lungs are larger then yours," the Doctor said, his focus on the screwdriver's beam. "You can hold your breath for an hour, right?"

"Yes," Rehprom said. Rose noticed that she wasn't breathing now. She was holding her breath, and was in no discomfort. The sonic screwdriver's beam quickly passed over Rehprom's throat. The Doctor frowned.

"What's that?"

"What?"

"Inside your throat."

"Oh, that's the filter," Rehprom said. "It filters the air as I breathe so I only inhale oxygen and only exhale carbon dioxide."

"Good bit of evolution," the Doctor remarked.

Rehprom gave a small smile. "Yes, it is."

"So's your hearts."

Rose's eyes widened. "She has two like you?"

"Nope," the Doctor said. "She has three."

"Three," Jack said, sounding amazed. He shook his head, bemused. "And I thought two was too many."

The Doctor glared at him. "There's nothing wrong with two hearts, or three for that matter. In fact, I'm amazed how you can live so long with only _one_."

The Doctor moved the sonic screwdriver over Rehprom's womb. "Yes, there's two in there," he said. "And they seem healthy…except…"

"What? Except what?" Rehprom demanded.

The Doctor grinned. "Except we'll have to do another test. Please lie down on the bed."

Rehprom shifted herself flat onto the bed. Her tail began to flip nervously. Her right bicep began to twitch again and she stilled it. The Doctor placed the sonic screwdriver in his pocket and opened a cupboard. He pulled out another device similar to the screwdriver and ran its beam over Rehprom's ballooned belly. The Canad bit her lip, her tail making a tight curly-que.

"It tingles," she said.

The Doctor smiled. He turned to his right and pressed some buttons on a computer, plugging the scanner into it. "And now," he announced. "We'll have a picture of your babies."

Rehprom sat up can leaned over to see the screen. Jack and Rose also moved to see. A blurry image appeared with two masses visible. "Those are the foetuses," the Doctor explained. Rehprom smiled and rubbed her belly. Her fail relaxed and flopped. The image became clearer, more detail visible. "You can see the umbilical cords," the Doctor said.

"What's that?" Jack asked, pointing at something on the screen.

"A tail," the Doctor said. He grinned. "There's the other one's"

"What's that?" Rose asked, pointing to a dark mass on the back of one of the babies. It's twin had a similar mass on its back.

"If I'm not mistaken," the Doctor said, looking at Rehprom. This time it was her who felt x-rayed by his eyes. "Those are wings."

Rehprom's face didn't change, but she blinked and swallowed.

"Canads don't have wings," Jack said.

The Doctor's voice was calm, not angry. "No, they don't. But Ricans do." Rehprom adverted her eyes, placing both hands on her stomach. "Xaler is a Rican, isn't he?" the Doctor asked gently. Rehprom nodded.

"Yes," she said softly. "He saved me…protected me. He said he was sorry. He never wanted to come to Canad. But he loved me. He tried to help Acro and I escape."

The room went quiet. The Doctor scooted a bit closer to Rehprom, getting down to her level, eye to eye. "You didn't do anything wrong," he told her. "If anything, you've proven that not _all_ Ricans are bad. You obviously love each other very much, or else you wouldn't have done this." He gently placed his fingertips on Rehprom's stomach. "You also are making history by being to first to give birth to this new species. A cross between Canad and Rican, and apparently with a good mix of physical qualities from both species. I don't know how this will impact through time, but it _could_ possibly result in peace between Canadmanipegwinntoba and Rica once again."

"But Xaler got caught!" Rehprom protested, still not looking at him. "And if the Rican government ever found out about this they'd kill them!" She was fighting back tears now. Rose felt very emotional, and suddenly spurred to help Rehprom out even more. Even Captain Jack was moved.

"That won't happen," the Doctor assured her. "We'll go back right now and we'll get them. Then we'll find a place where you can be safe and have your babies and everything will be fine." Rehprom made eye contact with him, her eyes red and brimming with moisture.

"Okay."

"All right? No more tears now." The Doctor smiled and moved out of the room. Rose smiled at Rehprom and followed the Doctor to the control room.

As they walked, Rose suddenly had a thought. "Doctor, what would you do if I ever…got pregnant?"

The Time Lord frowned. "Why? You planning to?"

"No," Rose said quickly. "But what if I were, I dunno, raped or something?"

"First of all, I would never allow you to get raped," the Doctor said as they turned a corner. "But if, in the highly unlikely case that you _did_ get pregnant, I'd take care of you. And if you wanted to go home, you of course, could do so."

Rose smiled. "Good to know." Her smile widened into a grin. "Mum would kill you if I ever came home pregnant."

The Doctor shared her grin. "I know. So here's hopin' that doesn't happen."

---

Back in the infirmary, Rehprom sniffled and tried to wipe her face with her hands. Jack handed her a tissue with a small smile. Rehprom looked at it blankly.

"You use it to wipe your eyes," Jack explained gently.

"Oh. Thanks," she said, taking the tissue and dabbing her face with it.

"No problem." Jack looked at the screen displaying the foetuses. "They're big," he remarked. "Know when you're due?"

Rehprom shook her head. "Could be in a few weeks, could be in a few days, could be today."

"Then we'd better find your brother and boyfriend soon. Come on." He headed for the door, pausing to wait for Rehprom to slide awkwardly off the bed and follow him.

The control room was buzzing with activity. The TARDIS whirred loudly as she flew through space, guided by the co-ordinates the Doctor put in. Rose, the Doctor and Jack all stood around the console. Rehprom stood a little distance away. She let out the breath she had been holding and prepared herself. She told herself to be brave and strong should anything go wrong.

At last the TARDIS shuddered and landed. The Doctor looked at Rehprom. "You sure you want to come with us?"

"Yes." Rehprom said without hesitation.

"You do realise that you could get hurt. You could hurt the babies."

"I know, but," Rehprom sighed quietly. "This is something I have to do."

The Doctor was reluctant, but gave in. "Okay, but be careful."

"I will," Rehprom said. She whipped her tail experimentally, relishing in the whip crack sound it made. The Doctor smiled, and opened the TARDIS' doors.

* * *

AN/ Reference guide for this chapter: 

Acinom is the name Monica spelled backwards. Monica was the name of my character in my Year 12 play.

I love cinnamon toast. That's why it's in the fic.

Canads being able to hold their breath for an hour, having a filter in their throats and three hearts comes from me trying to make them alien. The hearts is actually inspired by the Doctor having two. I just simply one upped him. (If anyone cares, Ricans only have one heart, but it's huge, about three time bigger than a human heart.)

And Xaler is a Rican. As I've already said, Rehprom doesn't mind black leather so much. ;)

The conversation between the Doctor and Rose about pregnancy is a shout out to all the "Rose is pregnant" fics out there.


	6. Punishment

The first thing the Doctor saw was a block of empty prison-like cells, about fifty in all. There was also a large building with long, high windows. A sign was on the side of the building, but the Doctor was too far away to read it clearly. The place seemed deserted. Rose, Captain Jack and Rehprom followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS. Rose blinked up at the sky. It was overcast, a sun trying meekly to show through the grey clouds. It was humid, the air feeling tense, like it does before a storm.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"This is Canad," Rehprom said, her voice tinged with sadness. "This is the Flow Dab quarter. This is where my brother and I were held."

"Where is everybody?" Jack asked.

"Working a long way away from here, but Acro and Xaler would probably be held in that building." Rehprom nodded and pointed towards the imposing structure.

"Right. That's where we'll go then." The Doctor started off towards the building.

As they walked past rows of cages, Rehprom paused beside one of them. On the door was the same mark that was burned into her arm. "This one was mine," she said quietly. Rose bit her lip.

The Doctor looked back at her. "Come on."

They walked past the 'Flow Dab' sign on the building. Rose examined it for a moment, then pushed it to the back of her mind.

They came to a door. The Doctor stopped. "Right. I'll go in first. If anything goes wrong… Rehprom, you get back to the TARDIS. Don't stay and fight."

Rehprom nodded. "Okay."

The Doctor approached the door. It slid open automatically. He glanced around. Seeing no one, he motioned the others to follow. Two very wide hallways branched off, one going strait, the other going to the right. "Which way, do you think?" Rose asked.

"We'll split up," the Doctor decided. "Rose with me. Jack with Rehprom. Set your phones."

Jack, Rose and the Doctor all got out their phones and set them.

"Right, we'll go this way," Jack said, gesturing to the hall that went to the right. "See you two later." He started down the hall, Rehprom following. Rose and the Doctor started at a jog down the other passage way.

---

"See anything yet?" Jack asked Rose through his phone. It had been about ten minutes since they had separated.

"Nope," came the reply. There was a pause, then, "Wait…I think there's…"

"What? There's what?"

There was the sound of a scuffle and the phone went dead. Jack looked that it, then at Rehprom. She sighed. Jack gritted his teeth and got out his gun. "Come on. Looks like we've got two more people to save. I hope you're good with that tail."

"You know I am," Rehprom said witha thin smile.

"True."

They travelled back down the hall for while. Then a rustle of wings came from ahead of them, causing Rehprom and Jack to stop in their tracks. Jack aimed his gun as a Rican stepped into view. Rehprom arched her tail, ready to strike, and gasped when she saw the Rican's face. It was Tyran.

"Ah, _there _you are," Tyran said. "We've been looking for you. I can only assume you're a part of that 'rescue party' we just apprehended."

"What have you done with them?" Jack demanded. Rehprom's eyes narrowed into a glare. Like a cat, she hissed venomously at Tyran.

The Rican snapped his fingers. More Ricans appeared behind him. One held Rose, the other held the Doctor. They struggled, but it was futile. Still more Ricans appeared behind Rehprom and Jack. One of them was a female with dark hair.

"If you come with us quietly, we won't have to hurt you," Tyran said in what he thought was a reasoning tone.

"If you let us go, we won't have to hurt _you_," Jack replied sharply.

Tyran reached for Rose, peeling a bandage off of his left hand. His injured hand hovered near Rose's face, dark red blood shining slightly as the light caught it. "If you want to keep her pretty little face looking like this, you'll come with us. You may not know what Rican blood can do, but she does." He looked at Rehprom.

She hesitated, then with a low, discontented growl, slowly relaxed her tail. Jack lowered his gun, glaring at the Rican.

"Good." Tyran said. Rehprom and Jack were restrained, Rehprom's tail secured with a belt. "We'll have to do something about you, though," Tyran added thoughtfully, looking at Rehprom's belly.

"You'll never touch them, Tyran," she snapped.

He smirked at her. "We'll see." Tyran addressed his Rican underlings. "Put them next to the other prisoners. They might appreciate seeing each other again. Well, those that can, anyways." He laughed to himself as they were dragged away. The female Rican lowered her eyes and bit her lip. Tyran looked at her. "Acinom, help guard them, especially that one in the jacket."

"Yes," she said. She followed the group as they moved outside, her mind trying to come to a conclusion of her own.

Once they were outside the group paused. "So where are we going, then?" the Doctor inquired.

"You're being taken to the prisoner's holding cell," the female Rican said. "The only way in is from the roof."

"And how are we gonna get up there?" the Doctor asked her.

Aci said nothing. She just spread her great black wings and started to flap. Only then could beauty and sheer size of her eight metre long wingspan be appreciated. All the other Ricans did the same, catching a wind and flying the prisoners up onto the roof of the building. As they landed, one took out a kea and unlocked a door. Inside there were more cells, larger than the ones on the ground. One of them was occupied by two beings in the shadows. Rehprom was shoved into that one. Rose, the Doctor and Jack were all placed in an adjoining cell. Then the extra Ricans left, leaving just two as guards, Aci and another big male. The male slouched on a bench. He looked like he had more brawn then brains and obviously put no pride in his work, or anything else for that matter.

The Doctor took a brief look around the cage he and the others were in. "Incredible. Your cages for prisoners are larger then the ones for your slaves. Really shows where your priorities lie."

Rehprom wasn't listening. Her focus was on the other two people in her cell. She recognised their scents instantly. "Xaler? Acro?"

Xaler stepped out of the shadows. Tall, dark and handsome. He was nursing some bruises, but otherwise seemed no worse for ware. "Rehprom," he whispered, enclosing her in an embrace. Tears spilled down her face and they kissed.

"I thought I would never see you again!" Rehprom sobbed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Xaler stepped back and frowned at her body, more specifically her stomach. "Are…Rehprom, are you pregnant?"

Rehprom smiled. "Yeah."

His eyes met hers. "Mine?"

She gave him a look. "Like you have to ask. _Of course _they are!"

"Oh my gosh," Xaler breathed as the prospect of fatherhood sunk in. "How come it didn't show before?"

"My body hid it," she explained. "But they're healthy." She grinned. "They've got wings _and_ tails."

Xaler smiled and hugged her again.

"Rehprom?" another voice said.

Rehprom pushed away from Xaler. "Acro!"

Her brother seemed to struggle a bit, almost as if he was uncertain of where she was. He was wearing what looked like dark sunglasses. However, in the excitement of seeing her brother again, Rehprom paid this no heedand hugged him. "How did you get back here?" he asked.

"They helped me." Rehprom gestured to the Doctor and his companions.

"Hello," the Doctor said with a smile and a little wave.

"And so you came back for us?" Acro said.

"Of _course_," Rehprom responded.

"There's just been a little hitch in the plan, that's all," the Doctor said.

Jack gave him a look. "You call this a 'hitch'?"

"Yeah." The Doctor shrugged. "Been in worse situations." Rose smiled slightly.

Jack also shrugged. "To tell you the truth, so have I," he confessed.

Xaler shifted his wings. "Thank you anyways."

"No problem," the Doctor said.

Rehprom frowned. There was something about Xaler's wings that suddenly caught her attention. "Xaler, is there something wrong with your wings?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of." He sighed. "They punished me for helping you escape." He stretched out his wings as far as they would go in the cramped cell. Rehprom looked and saw that the feathers along the bottom of his wings, normally long and elegant, had been cut.

"What did they do?"

"They've clipped his wings," the Doctor said, examining them from his position. He shook his head sadly. "He won't be able to fly anymore." Rose covered her mouth.

Xaler brought his wings close to him and Rehprom hugged him, not knowing what to say.

The male Rican guard suddenly spoke up. "That's not all we did." He chuckled to himself. "Why don't you go and have a _look_ at your brother."

Rehprom shot the guard a brief glare and growled softly, then slowly approached Acro. "Acro, what did they do to you?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to find out.

He swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady. "They told me I would never see you again."

"But I'm right here." She tried to smile. "They lied."

"No, they didn't." He slowly raised his hand and removed the sunglasses. Rehprom gasped in shock and horror, as did Rose and Jack when they saw his face. The Doctor gritted his teeth. Xaler and Aci adverted their eyes. Both of Acro's eyeballs were gone. All that was left were dark, empty sockets that stared into nothing.

* * *

AN/ References from this chapter: 

"Flow Dab" again. Had to make Rose see it. You know why, if you've seen "Parting of the Ways."

The Ricans have an eight metre long wingspan because they are about the size of a human and if humans had wings they would have to be at least four metres long each for us to be able to fly. I measured this with a tape measure, and it is massive!

How would you punish a Rican? Well, what's the most devastating thing you can to do something with wings short of amputating them off? That would be clipping them so they can't fly, so poor Xaler's wings got the snip.

And Acro's punishment? I fully admit I was inspired by Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) from _Once Upon A Time In Mexico_. That image of him at the end has stayed in my mind ever since. Why is it the Johnny Depp somehow worms his way into almost every aspect of my life?


	7. On a Knife Edge

"How?" Rehprom breathed, shocked.

"Tyran," Acro said, his voice hollow. "Diluted blood. Three drops each."

Rehprom started to cry again. The male Rican guard chuckled. The sound seemed to seep into Rehprom's soul as she wiped her tears away. Her face became stony and she took a deep breath. Slowly, she turned and walked towards the door of her cell.

"I have only one thing to say to you," she said calmly to the male Rican.

"Yeah, and what's that?" he said with a smirk.

"Meega nala queesta vu pitte merd."

At these alien words the guard blanched then began to turn red, Xaler gasped, Acro smirked, and Aci tried in vain to hide a small smile.The Doctor's eyebrows zoomed up. Rose and Captain Jack didn't understand Rehprom and so reacted with confusion.

"You shut up, or I'll burn your tongue out," the male Rican hissed, but the threat sounded empty. He turned to Aci. "You guard 'em. I'm going out." He exited through the door and flew away.

"Where did you learn that?" Xaler asked his mate, his voice a mixture of awe and horror.

"Don't ask," she said. Acro smirked again like it was a hidden joke.

"What did it mean?" Rose asked.

"You don't want to know," the Doctor told her.

"No, come on!" Jack insisted. "What does it mean?" The Doctor rolled his eyes and whispered first in his ear, then in Rose's. Jack's jaw dropped. "Whoa. I hope you won't speak like that around your kids." Rose had a similar reaction.

"Hush," Aci said. She stepped up to the Doctor's cell. "How did you get here?" she demanded.

"By my ship," he replied casually.

"Is it that blue box outside?'

"Maybe," the Doctor said, guarded.

"What's your name?" the Rican asked.

"I'm called the Doctor."

Aci's eyes widened. "_The Doctor_? I thought you were just a myth."

Rose winced slightly, but the Time Lord grinned. "Heard of me? Well, I'm real." He spread his arms as proof.

"Yes." Acinom looked at all the others. "I'm Aci. Tyran is my older brother." She produced a set of keys.

"What are you doing?" Rehprom asked. Aci was sorting through the keys.

"I hate my brother just as much as you do. I'm going to get you out."

"But you'll be punished too," Xaler said.

"No I won't. You'll knock me out. It'll look like I tried to stop you."

"But what if the other one comes back?" Rose asked.

"He won't. He's lazy. When he says he's going out, he won't be coming back... Damn!"

"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked.

"These aren't the right keys," Aci said, frustrated.

"No problem," the Doctor said. He reached into his pocket and took out his sonic screwdriver. A few seconds later both cell doors were open and Rehprom and Acro's tails were released of their belts. "I need to get down to my ship," the Doctor told Aci. "Could you fly me there?"

"I think so," she said. They went up onto the roof, Rehprom leading Acro so he wouldn't bump into anything. Xaler stretched his crippled wings out fully. Even with the trimmed feathers, he still had an impressive wingspan.

"I hated that cell," he muttered.

"Yeah, Ricans love the wide, open spaces, don't they?" the Doctor said, looking at the sky. He turned to Aci. "Let's go."

She spread her wings and motioned for the Doctor to get onto her back. Rose found herself adverting her eyes, though she forced herself to watch them and they took off and glided down to the TARDIS. She told herself she needed at watch them to make sure the Doctor was safe.

As soon as they landed, the Doctor hopped off with a quick "thanks." He opened the doors and disappeared inside the TARDIS. Acinom took to the air again as the blue box began to screech and whirr as it faded away.

As Aci flew, she spotted something below her. She cursed and flapped onto the roof. "Tyran is down there," she said. "He didn't see me, but he'll be on his way up any second."

"We'd better give you your alibi then," Jack said. He walked up to her and smiled his most winning smile. "Thanks for helping us, Aci." Then, before she could react, he kissed her on the lips, then punched her on the head. Aci collapsed in his arms. Rose and the others looked shocked. "She'll be fine," Jack said, checking Aci's pulse and breathing. "That's not the first time I've had to do that. She'll have a headache when she wakes up though."

"What, from you hitting her or from the kiss?" Rose teased. Jack gave her a brief dark look and carried Aci back down into the room with the cells.

"Look out!" Xaler suddenly cried as Jack came back out into the open. He pointed at the sky, just as Tyran swooped down at them. Everyone ducked, causing Tyran to miss them all. He growled, and flapped hard to gain more altitude. It started to rain. Huge drops fell and gusts of wind lashed at them.

Suddenly, there was a new noise, a grinding and whooshing of a great engine coming to life, then dying. Again and again, louder and louder. For those who knew what it was, it was music to their ears. Slowly, the TARDIS materialised on the roof. As soon as it was solid, Rose and Jack rushed to open its doors.

Tyran appeared again with a sickening speed. He landed on the roof, catching Rehprom and holding his injured hand near her belly. The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and into the wind and rain. He saw Rehprom and Tyran and froze.

"No one move!" Tyran shouted. They obeyed him. The Rican's eyes flickered to each of them. "Right. Now do as I say, or I'll touch her. Apparently…" he looked at Acro. "Rican blood is very painful."

"So, what do you want?" the Doctor asked.

"I want…" He seemed uncertain, but only for a moment. "I want…well, first of all, I want you killed," Tyran said.

"Wouldn't be the first," the Doctor remarked. He noticed, but didn't reveal Acro slowly moving closer to Tyran, as well as Rehprom's tail beginning to creep upwards. "Why did you take over this planet?" The Doctor asked, attempting to distract Tyran.

"Why?" Tyran scoffed. "Why should _you_ care?"

"Just curious. Was it for the water, or the slaves?"

"This planet has so many natural resources," Tyran said. "Water, land, minerals, and these _idiots_ were just sitting there. They weren't even using all of them! Ricans need these resources, so we're taking them."

"You only _think_ you need them," the Doctor said. "The Canads had the right idea. They only took what they really needed. You're just greedy."

Tyran would have responded, but at that moment there was a whip crack. Acro's tail lashed around Tyran's wrist, pulling the bloody hand away from Rehprom. At almost the same time, Rehprom's tail snaked its way around Tyran's throat and started to choke him. The Rican gasped for breath, flapping his wings. Xaler jumped on his back to prevent him taking off. Rose, the Doctor and Jack did the same, holding the Rican down. Tyran struggled and fought. He managed to twist his hand around and grabbed onto Acro's tail. Rehprom's brother screamed as raw Rican blood began to burn through his skin, forcing him to let go.

"Acro!" Rehprom tightened her grip on Tyran's throat. The bloody hand flailed, and suddenly went limp. When the others realised, they got up, brushing themselves off. The Doctor went to Acro's tail and examined it. Xaler pressed his fingers to Tyran's bruised, red neck, checking for a pulse.

"Is he…?" Rehprom asked.

"No," Xaler said. It was hard to tell from his voice if he was disappointed or not. "He's alive, just."

Rehprom turned to her brother. "Acro?"

"This is a bad burn," the Doctor said. "But we'll be able to treat him in the TARDIS." He looked up at the blind Canad's face. "How did you know where he was?"

Acro winced. "I heard him and judged the distance."

"It was a very lucky shot," Jack remarked.

Acro shrugged. "I always had excellent accuracy."

"He's right," Rehprom said. She could remember he always bested her in target practice, even with their eyes closed. She never thought it would be of much use until then.

"Good for you," the Doctor muttered. He turned to go. "Right. No use hanging around here any more. Might catch a cold in this rain."

"Okay," Rehprom said. "Just one second." She walked up to Tyran's body and grabbed one of his wings. She tugged on him, trying to drag him towards to edge on the roof. Xaler started to help her.

"Wait,"Jack said. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Rehprom said, pausing to brush some of her wet hair out of her eyes. "We're going to tip him off the edge." Acro followed the sound of her voice and found one of Tyran's legs. He picked it up and began to help drag him.

"But, you can't," Rose protested.

"Look what he's done to us," Xaler said. He stretched his wings, exposing the cut feathers. He gestured to Acro's deformed face. "This is nothing less then what this bastard deserves." The three of them moved around so that they themselves wouldn't fall off the roof.

"You'll be no better then he is," the Doctor said.

Rehprom, Xaler and Acro stopped. Tyran's body was teetering on the edge. One good push and he would fall. There was a long, silent pause. The rain continued to fall, though not as hard as before.

"Just come on. I know you won't be able to forget him, but you'll regret it if you kill him like this," the Doctor said, taking a few steps towards them. "You shouldn't gloat over the death of your enemies."

Rehprom turned to him, her features hard. "How would _you_ know?"

"I know," he said. "I've had enemies more terrible then your wildest imagination. Enemies who would exterminate anything that was different to them. I destroyed just about everything that was important to me to kill them, and I've never forgiven myself for that. Just walk away this time. Come back with me and my companions and we'll get you out of here for good. You'll never have to worry about him again."

"But _this_ way we also wouldn't have to worry about him," Xaler pointed out, gesturing to the ground far below.

"But _this_ way," the Doctor jabbed a thumb back at the TARDIS, "means you won't have any blood on your hands, so to speak. Being a killer isn't all it's cracked up to be. Trust me."

Rehprom looked once more at Tyran's prone form. Xaler took her hand and squeezed it. Her eyes rose to meet Xaler's. There was a long moment of quiet, with only the sound of the rain in the background. Somewhere inside Rehprom's womb, a baby kicked. She sighed. "Okay." Xaler nodded, not saying a word. They both moved away from Tyran and towards the TARDIS. Acro gave Tyran one last kick, but not hard enough to push him over the edge, then followed them. He seemed to move better as he became more used to being blind. Even still, Rehprom gave him her tail to guide him along.

Rose and Jack smiled and entered the TARDIS. Xaler paused uncertainly at the door. "How can we all fit inside?"

Rehprom smiled. "It's bigger on the inside."

"You sure?"

"Yep." the Doctor grinned and stepped into his ship. "Don't dawdle. She doesn't like getting wet on the inside."

Xaler and Rehprom walked inside, Xaler gaping at the interior. Acro was the last one in. Rehprom freed her tail from his grasp for a moment to use it to close the door.

Imminently, the Doctor started pressing buttons and switches on the console and within a few moments they were in flight. Rehprom smiled. Xaler copied her. It was infectious, and soon they all were smiling.

"We're free," Rehprom said. Xaler wrapped her in a hug. The smiles in the room turned into grins.

"Now then, let's go dry off and see what we can do about that tail of yours, Acro," the Doctor said. Then he stopped, wincing at his choice of words. "Maybe I shouldn't have used the word 'see.' Sorry."

"Don't worry," Acro said, heaving a sigh. "I'll have to get used to it. Just lead the way."

They didn't get more then two steps before Rehprom doubled over with a sudden gasp of pain. "Rehprom?" her worried mate said. "What's wrong?"

"I think…" She gasped as another wave of pain hit. "I think it's time."

"Like, _the_ time?"

Rehprom nodded.

The Doctor's face split in another grin. "Fantastic! You can follow me to the infirmary too."

* * *

AN/ References for this chapter: 

Rehprom's language towards the Rican guard is a mixture of Stitch's "naughty" words towards the alien counsel in _Lilo and Stitch_ and modified French words for "you little shit".

You all should know what enemies the Doctor is talking about in the last chapter as well. If you don't, then you really need to be educated a little more about the realm of _Doctor Who._


	8. Otina

**AN/ Just to warn you, this chapter is extremely graphic. I don't recommend you read it if you get squeamish.**

* * *

Xaler was pacing, a picture of worry. Rehprom had been in labour for three hours and nothing major had happened. Xaler felt like he was being in the way hanging around the infirmary, so now he was wearing a trench into the floor of the hall outside. One, two, three, four, five steps. Turn. One, two, three, four, five. Turn. 

Jack poked his head out the infirmary's doors. He spotted Xaler in his state of stress and smiled to himself. Fathers. They get so worried. "Hey, Xaler, you're going to wear a hole in the floor."

The Rican paused and smiled nervously, rustling his wings. "Sorry. I'm just…"

"Anxious?" Jack smiled and gestured to the floor. "Let's sit."

The two men sat on the floor, leaning up against the wall. "This is so weird," Xaler muttered.

"I wouldn't know," Jack said. "I've never been in your situation."

"I'm worried about her," Xaler admitted. "Canads aren't meant to give birth to Ricans. What if the wings get stuck in the birth canal or something?"

"It's no use worrying about stuff like that," Jack told him. "Never does anyone any good."

A scream echoed throughout the TARDIS as Rehprom was hit by a particularly bad contraction. Xaler winced and buried his face in his hands. Rose appeared in the infirmary's door frame. "Jack, I think you'd better get the Doctor. Rehprom's gone unconscious."

"What?" Xaler leapt up and in a heartbeat brushed past Rose and into the infirmary. Jack got to his feet and dashed off down the hall to the console room, where the Doctor had briefly retreated.

Xaler reached Rehprom's bed and touched her sweaty face. "Rehprom, wake up," he pleaded. Jack and the Doctor appeared and both rushed to the bed. Rose hung back with Acro. The Doctor took a look at the machines Rehprom was hooked up to monitoring her heartbeats and the heartbeats of her babies. Just then, the Canad's eyes fluttered open. Xaler breathed a sigh of relief. "Rehprom, are you okay?"

"No," she said quietly. "I'm in a lot of pain."

"I'd give you something for it, but it's too risky," the Doctor said. "Don't know what it would do to the babies."

Rehprom groaned. She reached one hand down and pulled up the shirt she was wearing. It slid over her swollen stomach and stopped at the base of her breasts. There was something at the top of her stomach. In between her two rib cages was a neat crescent moon slit. The arch of the slit pointed upwards, the corners pointing down. A runny, red fluid was beginning to seep from the corners.

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"The opening to my birth canal," Rehprom explained.

"Ah. And the two belly buttons?" Jack inquired. Rehprom did indeed have two navels, one slightly above the other. She didn't answer the question however as she screwed up her face in pain. Xaler offered her a hand to squeeze, which she did, tightly. Her tail found its way around Jack's leg and started to squeeze that too.

"Hey!" Jack protested. He pointed to Xaler. "He may want to be a part of this, but I don't!"

"Tough," Rehprom growled.

A few tense seconds later she relaxed. Jack limped over to Rose, out of Rehprom's reach. The Doctor began to dab the opening of her birth canal with a towel. "Your contractions are getting closer together. Should be any time now." He smiled at Rehprom reassuringly.

"I think you've left a bruise!" Jack accused from across the room, examining his sore leg. Rehprom hissed at him, effectively shutting the captain up. Acro smiled.

The Doctor produced a pair ofmedical gloves from a drawer and snapped them on. "This will feel weird," he warned Rehprom. "But I just want to feel how far along you are." He carefully opened the slit on her chest and slid two fingers in. Xaler grimaced and Rehprom squeezed his hand again. The only ones who didn't react were Acro and the Doctor himself. After a few seconds, the Doctor retracted his hand.

"I can feel a head," he announced, peeling off the soiled glove. "I think you should be good to push. Just wait until the next contraction."

Rehprom nodded. Her tail flopped and twitched, looking for something to hold onto. It was carefully avoided. Rehprom whimpered, feeling another contraction coming. The Doctor sighed and offered his hand to the tail. Soon, it was trapped and squeezed. Rehprom took a huge breath and began to push, her eyes closed. Her pushing wasn't like that of human mothers in labour, where they push for ten seconds then break to breathe. Rehprom's pushing was constant, without pausing. A bludge appeared under the slit on her chest. Fluid was forced out of the birth canal first, then the opening stretched. The head slowly but steadily crowned. The baby's eyes were shut tightly, its skin slick with the birthing fluid. As soon as the head was all the way out, Rehprom stopped pushing. She lay still, gasping for air, tears streaming down her face. She chocked out a sob.

"Okay," the Doctor said. He raised the hand still snared by the tail. "Could someone take this, please?"

"What is it?" Acro asked.

"Her tail," the Doctor replied.

Acro stepped forward, reaching out a hand. The Doctor managed to transfer Rehprom's tail to her brother's hand, leaving both of his hands free.

He quickly placed fresh gloves on his hands and opened the baby's mouth, scooping fluid out with a finger. "Okay," he sighed. "Good. Now we've got to get the shoulders out. Push again, just a little bit."

Rehprom took another deep breath and did as the Doctor asked. The Doctor carefully eased the infant's shoulders out. One more small push and the baby slid all the way out in the Doctor's hands, its body wrapped in dark leather wings.

"Rose, get a towel," the Doctor said, grinning. He looked at Xaler, who wore an expression of shock and joy. Rose appeared with the towel. She placed it on Rehprom's belly and the Doctor laid the baby on it. "Clamps," he ordered. Jack stepped up with the clamps, which the Doctor used to secure and pinch off the umbilical cord. "Scissors." Jack handed him a pair, but the Doctor paused, looking at Xaler. "Do you want to cut the cord?"

Xaler looked stunned, but nodded. He took the scissors and snipped the cord cleanly between the clamps. Everyone wore a smile.

"Good," the Doctor said. He looked at Rose. "Rose, take the baby and rub it with the towel to dry it and induce breathing."

She nodded. "Okay." Rose scooped up the baby and moved to a near-by table, rubbing carefully but quickly. Within a few moments, the baby began to cry, filling its new lungs with air. The sound brought grins all around.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Rehprom asked. Rose gently peeled the wings apart and checked.

"Looks like a girl," she announced.

Xaler kissed Rehprom's forehead. "A girl," he whispered, beaming.

"Rehprom, could you give me one little push, please," the Doctor asked, one hand holing the end of the umbilical cord. She did so and the first baby's afterbirth slid out. "Fantastic, thanks. Jack, pass that container."

Jack handed the Doctor a plastic bucket and he scooped the placenta into it. Jack made a disgusted face but said nothing.

"Right," the Doctor said to Rehprom. "Now you can relax for a few minutes and then we'll start on the next one." He grinned and took the opportunity to change his gloves.

Meanwhile, Rose had completely dried off Xaler and Rehprom's daughter. Xaler wondered over to get a closer look at her. She had reddish fuzz on her head and big blue eyes. Her tail was about half a metre long and instinctively curled around her father's finger when he touched it. Her wings were broad, black and about a metre long each. She flapped them feebly on the table, provoking her father to smile. He folded her wings around her tiny body like her own personal blanket and Rose helped him wrap her in a clean blanket. Then he lifted her and took her over to Rehprom. He placed her in her arms.

"She's so beautiful," Rehprom said softly.

"And strong too," Xaler added.

"Do you have any names picked out?" the Doctor asked.

Rehprom thought for a second, then met Xaler's eyes. "Otina."

Xaler tried saying the name. "Otina." He smiled and nodded. "Otina it is."

Rehprom gasped. "I think her sibling is coming," she breathed painfully. Xaler took Otina from Rehprom as a contraction hit her.

Xaler turned to Rose. "Can you hold her, please?"

"Sure." Rose took little Otina from her father's arms and sat down with her. Otina's bewildered eyes blinked up at Rose, who smiled down at her. Xaler took up his station once again beside Rehprom, his hand in hers.

Three more contractions came and went, each one worse then the last. The Doctor checked Rehprom's progress again and declared her second child ready to be born. Rehprom pushed, slowly and steadily, but her strength was waning. When the second baby's head finally appeared, the Doctor imminently noticed that there was something wrong; it was an unhealthy blue colour. As soon as the head was out. The Doctor checked the baby's neck. Sure enough, the umbilical cord was wrapped around the infant's throat. He told Rehprom to stop pushing. She did, gasping and trembling. The Doctor tried to remove to cord but quickly found that he couldn't. "Damn it," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Acro asked, concerned.

"The cord's wrapped around the neck but I can't get it off. It's snagged on something else. Rehprom, push again."

"I can't," she sobbed.

"You have to!" the Doctor snapped. "Just do it!"

Rehprom inhaled deeply and pushed again. It was weak, but enough to get the baby's shoulders out.

"There's the problem," the Doctor muttered. "Its tangled in its wings." He pulled on the baby, sliding it a bit more out, only to have it stopped by an unexpected resistance, like it was suddenly too big to come out. "Its wings are open," the Doctor said. "I can't get it out." His eyes darted up to Xaler and Jack. "You two, grab some gloves and help me."

"It'll be okay," Xaler reassured Rehprom as he let go of her hand. He and Jack both adorned gloves.

"What do we do?" Jack asked.

"Hold the birth canal open. I've got to untangle to cord," the Doctor instructed.

Xaler swallowed and gently slipped his fingers in one side of the birth canal, pulling it slightly more open. Jack gritted his teeth and did the same for the other side. Rehprom whimpered and began to breathe quickly. Her pule rate was speeding up dangerously. The Doctor reached inside and wrestled with the umbilical cord, unwrapping it from around the baby's wings. This in turn loosened it from the baby's neck and the Doctor was able to pull it off. He then forced the baby's wings against its sides and told Rehprom to push again.

"Last time, I promise you," he said.

Somehow, Rehprom tapped into a hidden strength and pushed again. This time, the baby slid all the way out into the Doctor's hands. "Jack, a towel," he commanded. The Captain and Xaler let go of Rehprom and Jack fetched a clean towel. The troublesome umbilical cord was quickly clamped and cut and the baby taken away. Rehprom lay still, panting.

Jack and the Doctor were working on the second baby, trying to get it to breathe. Jack did take the time to announce to the room that "it's a boy." They rubbed him vigorously, but the infant's limbs, wings and tail just flopped limply. Rose bit her lip nervously, still cuddling Otina.

"Come on," the Doctor said quietly. "Come on!"

"Uh, Doctor?" Xaler said, his voice shaking.

The Doctor looked up. "What?"

Xaler gestured to his mate. "She won't stop bleeding."

The Time Lord crossed the room back to Rehprom. The second afterbirth had come out. Xaler had followed the Doctor's example and placed it in the bucket along with the other one. Now Rehprom was seeping large amounts of bright, pinky-red blood from her birth canal opening. "I'm sure that's okay," he said, assessing the situation quickly. "Some bleeding should be normal."

"But not this much," Rehprom told him. She sounded weak and scared.

The Doctor looked back to Jack, who was still working on the baby. "Is he breathing yet?"

"No," Jack said.

More blood gushed steadily out of Rehprom, draining her life away. The Doctor found himself torn two ways; Should he help the baby breathe, or stop his mother from haemorrhaging to death?

* * *

AN/ References from this chapter: 

Otina's name comes from a portion of the backwards spelling of Manitoba, the Canadian province in which I was born.

The second baby being born with the cord wrapped around its neck echoes not only my birth, but my father's birth as well. My mother also haemorrhaged after I was born.


	9. Stillborn

"Rehprom, sit up," the Doctor commanded. "That may help stop the bleeding." He turned around. "Jack, try holding him upside down to drain the fluid from him lungs." Rehprom painfully eased herself into a sitting position with Xaler and Acro's help. "Xaler, or Acro, or someone, put some pressure on her stomach," the Doctor said. "Not too much, just enough to encourage clotting."

The Doctor turned back to Jack and the baby. Jack was holding the infant upside down my his ankles and was trying to use his finger to scoop any fluid out of his mouth, but with no results. He placed him gently back on the table. The Doctor felt for a pulse, but felt none. He started to message the baby's tiny chest in an effort to encourage his hearts to start beating. He felt his own two hearts beating frantically as he worked to save the infant's life. Jack bit his lip as he watched the Doctor work.

After a few tense minutes the Doctor had made no progress with the baby, although he refused to give up. Xaler reported that Rehprom's bleeding was slowing, which was a good sign for her. Even though he did not want to think it, Jack was beginning to wonder if it was all in vain. Even if the baby survived, wouldn't it have severe brain damage from being deprived of oxygen for so long? Rose was thinking along similar lines, but neither of them dared to say anything to the Doctor about it.

The tense atmosphere was replaced with a heavy one of sadness as the Doctor's attempts to revive the infant failed. At last the Doctor stopped messaging the baby's chest and sighed, closing his eyes. He didn't want to give up, but he knew that it was too late; the baby was dead. His limbs, wings and tail were like limp rubber and his skin was blue. The Doctor opened his eyes and slowly turned to Rehprom, Xaler and Acro. He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry."

Rehprom was too exhausted and drained to respond. The family said nothing, still recovering from the shock of it all, though tears came to Rehprom and Xaler's eyes.

The Doctor found a clean towel and placed it over the infant's body. He then approached Rehprom. His eyes were troubled, and he knew he would need some time alone to cope with the events of the day. They all would. "Have you stopped bleeding?" The Doctor asked her. His voice had almost no emotion in it.

Rehprom looked down. She felt quite sore, but she had stopped haemorrhaging. "I think so," she said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat and swallowed, trying to suppress the painful ball of tears lodged there.

"Okay. Would you mind if I put you on an intervenous drip to help keep your fluids up?" the Doctor asked.

Rehprom nodded. "I think that's a good idea." She felt woozy, light headed, like it was all a surreal dream. She barely winced when the Doctor poked her with a needle, feeding a steady drip of liquid into her arm. The Doctor, Xaler and Jack all numbly cleaned Rehprom up of the blood she had lost. Then Rose approached with baby Otina.

"Here," she said, handing her to Rehprom. She looked to the Doctor and Jack. "I'd think we'd better leave them on their own for a bit," she suggested.

The Doctor nodded. "Good idea. I think we all need some time out."

The TARDIS team turned to go, but not before Xaler told them "Thanks, for everything."

"You're welcome," the Doctor said. He looked at the small still form under the towel. "It's a shame we couldn't do more," he added sadly. Then they left, closing the door softly behind them.

Rehprom cradled her daughter. They studied each other's faces intently. Then instinct told the baby to attempt to feed. She tried to find Rehprom's breast. The mother helped her, and soon Otina was contently sucking away.

"I don't understand," Rehprom said quietly. "Why she lived and the other one…didn't."

Xaler sighed. "I don't either." He looked forlornly at his son. "Maybe it was the mix of our species. Maybe it just wasn't compatible for him."

"But then why is Otina healthy?" Rehprom wondered. Her chin was starting to tremble as emotion threatened to engulf her.

"Chance," Acro said. "I guess sometimes your genes can cross successfully and other times they can't. Or it may have just been bad luck.Or maybe it was because you were hiding your pregnancy for so long." He sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging. "It might have stressed the baby. But that's not your fault, Rehprom," he added quickly.

"I suppose under the circumstances we should all consider ourselves lucky," Xaler said. "We're alive, we're free, and we have one beautiful baby. Things could have been a lot worse."

Rehprom nodded as silent tears swam down her cheeks. She sniffled and wiped her face before they could land on Otina.

Acro stood up. "Is there another bed or something I could rest on?" he asked.

"Yeah," Xaler said. "Here." He guided the blind Canad over to a spare bed where he lay down, his face staring blankly up at the ceiling. Xaler then moved back to Rehprom's side. She managed to scoot over so that he could sit on the bed beside her. He leaned back on the pillows propping Rehprom up and placed one wing around her. This made it easier for him to hug her close, his right arm around her waist. They said nothing, watching their daughter feed. When she was finished she slept, and so did they.

---

Rose didn't know what to do. She was sitting in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea. She noticed that Rehprom's cinnamon toast from earlier had disappeared. "_The TARDIS must have cleaned it up_," she mused. Jack was there as well, his feet propped up on the table, eyes staring into space. The Doctor was in the console room, probably doing some more unnecessary tinkering. It was his way of dealing, suppressing the emotion and turning it into activity.

Rose sighed. "I thought we had done it again," she said. "For a moment I thought we would have another happy ending like the one during the Blitz…where no one who was directly connected to us died."

"Yeah," Jack responded. "I kind got the impression when the Doctor said 'just this once, everyone lives' that this kind of thing happens a lot to you guys."

Rose nodded. "Death seems to follow him around a lot."

"I suppose that's life," Jack sighed. "You can't have life without death. It can't be cherry, sunshine and lollypops all the time."

Rose shook her head, lost in her own distant thoughts about the matters of life and death.

Neither of them noticed the Doctor leaning against the door frame, watching them silently. He waited for a few more seconds before clearing his throat audibly. Rose and Jack looked at him, both humans startled and wondering how long he had been standing there.

"Hey," Rose said to him softly in greeting.

"Hey. Just checked up on them," the Doctor indicated with his head and eyes in the direction of the infirmary. "They're all asleep."

Captain Jack sighed softly. "Where are we going to take them?"

"I know of a planet they can go," the Doctor replied. "It's nice…a bit like Canad, only warmer. They're used to taking in foreigners there."

"What's it called?" Rose asked.

"Adelalia."

* * *

AN/ I just want to acknowledge the website pregnancy info dot net. I went here to do some research about risk factors during the birthing process. 

The pronunciation of the new planet, Adelalia is ad-el-ale-ee-ah.

References for this chapter:

Originally, I really wanted this fic to be just like that moment at the end of 'The Doctor Dances' when everyone is elated. Then I realised that the whole reason why the Doctor was so excited was because that doesn't happen to him very often. Plus I couldn't come up with a name that I really liked for Rehprom and Xaler's son, so he never receives one. And death _is_ the Doctor's constant companion, after all.

"Sunshine and lollypops" comes from a 'friend' of mine who, when I was depressed, told me to think of "sunshine and lollypops." Instead, I thought of skin cancer and cavities.

Adelalia is Adelaide and Australia combined. This is where I currently live. I have heard Canada being compared to being just as nice as Australia, only Canada is "on ice." Indeed, Australia is in many ways just as good as Canada in my opinion, only a hell of a lot warmer. (As I'm typing, it's 42 Celsius.) Australia is also certainly used to taking in foreigners. Has been like that for centuries.


	10. Moving On

On Canadmanipegwinntoba, there is a forest known by her people as the Otciv Woods. These woods were once a favourite play place for Rehprom and Acro when they were younger. Xaler had respected this and campaigned against the clear-cutting of Otciv, arguing that the enip, elpam and hcrib trees there were critical to maintaining the atmosphere on Canad. It was a long and tiring battle to keep the forest, but Xaler eventually won.

It was in a small clearing there where Xaler dug a grave for his son.

Jack and the Doctor had made a coffin for the infant. It was simple and wooden. The Doctor had treated the wood in a chemical that would help preserve the baby's body. Rehprom and Xaler appreciated this, as they could not bear the thought of their son's body rotting.

His grave was covered in a tight spiral of stones made out of a mineral very similar to quartz, as was the Canad tradition. The stones also weighed down a single, long Rican feather. The baby's funeral was brief. Rehprom cried silently, cradling her surviving child. Xaler had a comforting arm around her shoulder. Rose placed a white lily from the TARDIS garden on the grave. She and the Doctor held hands throughout the ceremony. Jack stood just a short distance away from them. They all wore black as a sign of respect.

Acro said a short prayer in ancient Canad. Xaler offered a few words in Rican. Then the group stood quietly for a few moments. A breeze blew, ruffling hair, feathers and clothing. Eventually, the Doctor sighed and turned to the grieving family.

"When you're ready to go, let me know. We'll be in the TARDIS," he told them. The Time Lord and his companions left the scene, thus giving Rehprom, Xaler and Acro a moment alone with the grave. Even Otina seemed to gaze at her brother's grave sadly.

Five minutes later the TARDIS disappeared from the Octiv Woods, blowing dead leaves around like miniature dust devils, leaving the tiny grave alone in the still forest.

---

"All visitors to Adelaila are reminded that the greeters are here to help you and make you feel welcome," a cheerful voice chimed over an intercom. "Please feel free to take advantage of their services. Thank you."

Rose poked her head out of the newly-landed TARDIS just in time to hear these words. She smiled. The ship had landed in a large building that resembled an airport. Alien beings of all sizes, ages, colours, and backgrounds bustled busily past, mostly ignoring the blue box that had landed in their midst. It was just another ship among the thousands already parked there.

The Doctor and Jack followed Rose out of the TARDIS. Rehprom and her family stepped out, slightly cautious. Rehprom was carrying a sleeping Otina in a basket. Acro had a hand on Xaler's shoulder, trusting his brother-in-law to guide him safely.

The Doctor beamed that their surroundings. "Well, this is it. Your hew home," he told the refugees. "And only a few months have passed between the moment we left Canad to this very moment."

Rehprom wrinkled her forehead in confusion, and was about to ask how this was possible. It was a few hours, not a few months, since they had left Canad. But then she remembered one thing her new friends had stressed to her in the beginning: that the TARDIS was a _time_ ship.

The Doctor would have continued his little speech, but just then an Adelalian rushed up to them. It was a young female in a blue uniform. Her skin seemed to have a slight bluish glow. There were several others like her scattered throughout the building. It was easy to assume that these were the greeters. This particular one wore a name badge that read 'Elinda.' "Hello," the greeter said, "Do you need any assistance?"

"Ah, yes," the Doctor said. "Some friends of mine here wish to immigrate to Adelaila and I think they could use some help settling in."

"No problem," Elinda chirped. Her cat-like whiskers, which were a slightly lighter shade of blue from her uniform, twitched happily. "If you would just please follow me, I can get you all sorted out and settled in."

The Doctor smiled at the greeter. "Thank you." He turned to Rehprom, Xaler and Acro. "I guess this is it."

"Yes," Rehprom said. She looked at each member of the TARDIS team in turn. "Thank you all again, so much, for helping us."

"Yes," Xaler added. "Thank you." Acro smiled and nodded his thanks also.

"No problem," Rose said with a smile.

Jack grinned. "Yeah, it's been a blast."

"Best of luck," The Doctor said.

Rehprom smiled. "Yeah, you too." She flicked her tail happily.

Xaler turned to Elinda. "We're ready."

Elinda beamed. "Great! Follow me, please." She turned and walked off. The Canads and Rican followed with Otina. They turned and waved at the Doctor, Rose and Jack. The three waved back, then retreated into the TARDIS.

Rehprom waited until the grating, whirring sound of the disappearing TARDIS' engines had completely faded before remarking, "You know, I think the Doctor and Rose make a cute couple."

"Yeah," Xaler agreed. "It's obvious that they care very much about each other." He paused, thinking for a moment. "I don't think they know it, but _I _think they're in love, or at the _very_ least care an awful lot about each other."

Rehprom smirked at that statement. She had been thinking the same thing. "Seems like everyone can see it except for them."

Acro spoke up. "No kidding. Even _I_ can see it!"

Xaler and Rehprom, holding hands, laughed.

---

Back in the TARDIS, things returned to normal, or at least what would be described as 'normal' in context. Rose finally managed to win a game of solitaire. To celebrate, the Doctor suggested that they take a trip beck to Elizabethan London to visit Mary Queen of Scots and of course, Queen Elizabeth herself. Jack and Rose couldn't say no, especially since they would probably end up being chased by angry knights, running for their lives back to the TARDIS. They wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

AN/ I hope you all have enjoyed this fic as much as I have enjoyed writing it.Here's the reference guide to this chapter: 

Otciv Woods: (pronounced ought-civ) Otciv is a portion of Victoria spelled backwards. Growing up, my family and I spent every summer at my grandparents' cabin in Victoria Beach, Manitoba. I have many fond memories there.

Enip ( pronounced In-ip), elpam (pronounced El- pam) and hcrib ( pronounced Hic-rip) trees: Enip is pine spelled backwards, elpam is maple spelled backwards, and hcrib is birch spelled backwards. All three species can be found in Victoria Beach.

Quartz is one of my favourite stones. I liked collecting white quartz pebbles as a child.

Elinda (pronounced el-in-da) is based on Belinda, AKA LilCosette, who was the beta on this fic. This story is also dedicated to her.

I am a firm believer that Rose and the Doctor are in love and that they are the only two who don't realise it. Even the last Dalek could see it! "What use are emotions if you can't save the woman you love?"

And for a final note, the TARDIS crew are going to visit Queen Elizabeth because Christopher Eccleston was in the movie Elizabeth.

Thanks and good bye!


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